Mika – review

Few acts divide opinion more starkly than Mika, the Anglo-Lebanese singer who hit the heights in 2007 with the irrepressible Grace Kelly. But whether you find his perky, soul-searching persona punchable or praiseworthy, his third album, The Origin of Love (due in September) feels like crunch time: 2009's The Boy Who Knew Too Much shifted fewer than half the copies of its predecessor, the six-million selling Life in Cartoon Motion.

Mika's response has been to team up with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Benny Benassi for his new album. Not that they were to be seen at Heaven – they'd have struggled to find a spot on its compact stage, anyway. Clad in a white shirt, bowler hat and braces, Mika was standing atop his piano before the second song, Relax, Take It Easy, had ended, hand outstretched and heels flexing.

For all this showmanship – and a barrage of early hits – the gig didn't gel immediately, though Mika's unfeigned banter could put anyone at ease. "I freaked out and locked myself in the bathroom," he explained, a propos of an earlier radio interview. "Then I peed, washed my hands, and got the fuck on with it."

Soon, though, he was in control, hamming it up with his flat-capped guitarist and swapping lines with the baying audience. Lollipop can sound trite on record, but it was harder to dislike when the man singing it had just leapt from the piano to merrily straddle his keyboard player. Elsewhere, his pure pop, propelled by five-piece band who gave it grit and funk, just clicked: We Are Golden was irresistible.

How well this exhilarating performance bodes for the new album is hard to say – the eager response that greeted the forthcoming single Celebrate was arguably down more to Mika's own glee and the balloons that poured out over the crowd than the particular merits of its hummable disco-pop – but at Heaven, Mika played the pop star to perfection.